"Come on Ron, it'll be alright. I have a good feeling about this." I say, giving him a little wink and dragging him with me to an empty compartment toward the back of the train. Little did we know that the boy we would befriend that day would lead u...
As we made our way out of the train and onto the platform I looked around. Just like Platform 9 3/4, the train is what stood out the most. The buildings surrounding the tracks were mainly all bricks but the wood they did have was probably once as red as the train but had muted and worn down throughout the years. Kids were everywhere, black robes and colors of each house on almost each one.
"Right then! Firs' Years, this way, please!" A gruff voice called out. I noticed it was the large man from Diagon Alley that was with Harry. He was waving a lantern to help him see his way around and to help us see him. "Come on then. Firs' years, don't be shy!"
"Hello, Harry." He greeted us as we walked up to him. "Hey, Hagrid!" He called back. Ron looked at me and then at the giant and all he said was, "Woah."
"Oh an' you're the girl with the precious cat!" Ron scoffed but Hagrid seemed to not have heard. "Alright then, I'm Hagrid. Keeper of the keys and grounds at Hogwarts." I laughed little at that. "That was me, yes. I'm Samantha Montgomery- Weasley." He nodded at us both and looked at all the kids behind us.
"Right then. This way to the boats!" We looked at each other weirdly, "boats?" I whispered to them. I felt a little nervous about carrying a temperamental cat in a boat across the water in the dark but followed nonetheless. "Come on now. Follow me!" Hagrid called over his shoulder as he started walking away.
To get to the boats, we had to walk down the thin and uneven dirt path, with very little light, to get to the part of the lake that had all the boats. Everyone was slipping and sliding and I'm sure I heard a kid behind us mentioning how he would tell his father of this abhorrent walk. I went to take another step but my foot slipped and I started to fall toward the lake when Harry thankfully grabbed me and made sure my feet were stable.
"Thank you." I sighed in relief, thanking Merlin it was dark out so no one could see how red my face was from embarrassment. It would make sure a horrible impression to walk into the great hall soaking wet. The twins would never let me live it down, either. "You-You're welcome. Be careful." He said back, sending me a smile I could just barely see.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec!" Hagrid called out, causing me to jump back a little into Ron. I sent him an apology over my shoulder but looked back forward when we heard a loud chorus of "Ooooh's!" Ahead of us was the Black Lake, lined with many small boats, but that wasn't what people were looking at. On the other end of the lake on top of a small mountain, stood Hogwarts, with many towers and windows that were all lit up. The castle stood out from the background of the dark sky and millions of little bright stars, it looked like a photo out of a fairy tale. I looked at both Ron and Harry, our smiles were huge. Mom was so right about how magical Hogwarts looks. I thought in awe.
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"No more'n five to a boat!" Hagrid yelled as we got closer to our destination. Now able to see more clearly with a lantern on our boat, Ron got in first while Harry helped me in next, then once he got in, he sat on the other side of me on the bench. Behind us sat Hermione and the boy I saw her with on the train. I turned around and smiled at them.
